October 30th, 1735 - July 4th, 1826 in Braintree, Massachusetts
Terms of Office: March 1797- March 1801
Vice President: Thomas Jefferson
Political Party: Federalist Thesis Paragraph: As the 2nd president of the United States, John Adams deserves the grade of a "B". Before his presidency Adams defended the British troops involved in the Boston Massacre because of his passion for justice. He was also a member of Massachusetts legislature, the Continental Congress, was a diplomat abroad, and served as vice president. From the very beginning of his presidency there was friction concerning affairs with the British and French. Through even the XYZ affair Adams was determined to keep peace and not declare war. He also had a great choice of Secretary of the Navy because it was greatly expanded. But he was also severely focused on over powering the Democratic-Republicans and made laws like the Alien and Sedition and Naturalization Acts to control them.
Goals: One of John Adam's major goals was to make the Federalists the party in power. He accomplished this by passing the Alien and Sedation Acts and Naturalization Act. These keep more immigrants from moving to the Americas and becoming citizens because immigrants were typically Jeffersonians. Adams also used his final hours in power to appoint many Federalist to lower court offices and judgeships. Another goal of John Adams was to keep peace between the United States and France. He did this by not declaring war on the French, even though the Quasi War was going on. This was extremely hard considering how rude the French were (XYZ Affair) and many people criticized him for doing so but he knew that the U.S. couldn't afford to go to war. A third goal of Adams was to reinforce Washington's strong central government as opposed to the power being spread to the state level. He had a fear of the masses and thought government belonged to politicians.
Relationship with Congress: John Adams probably had a pretty good relationship with his congress because it was Federalist dominated. This is shown by the passing of the Alien and Sedition and Naturalization Acts which were aimed at Democratic-Republicans. One flaw for Adams was that Thomas Jefferson (a Democratic-Republican) was the vice president and president of the senate. Lucky for him the president only votes to break a tie. One law that was passed was the taxing of property which resulted in the Fries Rebellion. An act that was put into effect is the Logan Act. This was needed when George Logan took the matters of French negotiations into his own hands. Legislation like this was needed because the government was just beginning.
Outcomes: The action of John Adams that had the most positive outcome was his choice to not go to war with the French. If he did not make this decision the Americas could be completely different. If the French would have won the United States of America could not have even existed. This was best for America because they did not have the money or military to go to war. The navy was just beginning to grow during Adams' presidency. Another reason this was a positive choice is because this could have caused more rebellion. If the U.S. was in war then they would need to raise taxes to support it. As shown from the Revolutionary War and the Fries Rebellion the people did not like paying taxes. The action of John Adams that had the most negative outcome was the signing of the Alien and Sedition and Naturalization Acts. They did support his cause but they added even more friction between the two parties. These acts resulted in the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions which brought forth questions concerning state government powers. It is probably that because of the discrimination of Democratic-Republicans John Adams lost the election the second time he ran for president.
Influences: The main decision made by John Adams that has influenced America today was not to go to war with France and to make amends with them. If, for instance, America did go to war with France and won there would probably be no Canada, but America would be greatly in debt. If America went to war and lost the United States of America would not exist. If France had won America it could have over taken Britain. This would change the lives of millions of people. Furthermore, since Adam's sent 3 more men to Paris to try and make amends for the second time. This ended successfully and a friendship occurred between the Americans and French. For the most part the Americans and French are on relatively good terms to this day.
Conclusion: When John Adams' presidency was over the country was defiantly better off then it was before. Some positive changes include the improved navy, French friendship, property taxes to pay off debts, and Logan act. All of these things were needed if the country hoped to advance in the future. A negative to his presidency was the Alien and Sedition Acts which target immigrants who were largely Democratic-Republicans. But he never openly supported them or executed them. Even though he strongly believed his party was the superior one, Adams ruled with kindness and sympathy. This was shown when he defended the British soldiers that were at the Boston Massacre. These mostly positive reflections of John Adams' presidency is why he deserves the grade of a "B".
John Adams
October 30th, 1735 - July 4th, 1826 in Braintree, Massachusetts
Terms of Office: March 1797- March 1801Vice President: Thomas Jefferson
Political Party: Federalist
Thesis Paragraph: As the 2nd president of the United States, John Adams deserves the grade of a "B". Before his presidency Adams defended the British troops involved in the Boston Massacre because of his passion for justice. He was also a member of Massachusetts legislature, the Continental Congress, was a diplomat abroad, and served as vice president. From the very beginning of his presidency there was friction concerning affairs with the British and French. Through even the XYZ affair Adams was determined to keep peace and not declare war. He also had a great choice of Secretary of the Navy because it was greatly expanded. But he was also severely focused on over powering the Democratic-Republicans and made laws like the Alien and Sedition and Naturalization Acts to control them.
Goals: One of John Adam's major goals was to make the Federalists the party in power. He accomplished this by passing the Alien and Sedation Acts and Naturalization Act. These keep more immigrants from moving to the Americas and becoming citizens because immigrants were typically Jeffersonians. Adams also used his final hours in power to appoint many Federalist to lower court offices and judgeships. Another goal of John Adams was to keep peace between the United States and France. He did this by not declaring war on the French, even though the Quasi War was going on. This was extremely hard considering how rude the French were (XYZ Affair) and many people criticized him for doing so but he knew that the U.S. couldn't afford to go to war. A third goal of Adams was to reinforce Washington's strong central government as opposed to the power being spread to the state level. He had a fear of the masses and thought government belonged to politicians.
Relationship with Congress: John Adams probably had a pretty good relationship with his congress because it was Federalist dominated. This is shown by the passing of the Alien and Sedition and Naturalization Acts which were aimed at Democratic-Republicans. One flaw for Adams was that Thomas Jefferson (a Democratic-Republican) was the vice president and president of the senate. Lucky for him the president only votes to break a tie. One law that was passed was the taxing of property which resulted in the Fries Rebellion. An act that was put into effect is the Logan Act. This was needed when George Logan took the matters of French negotiations into his own hands. Legislation like this was needed because the government was just beginning.
Outcomes: The action of John Adams that had the most positive outcome was his choice to not go to war with the French. If he did not make this decision the Americas could be completely different. If the French would have won the United States of America could not have even existed. This was best for America because they did not have the money or military to go to war. The navy was just beginning to grow during Adams' presidency. Another reason this was a positive choice is because this could have caused more rebellion. If the U.S. was in war then they would need to raise taxes to support it. As shown from the Revolutionary War and the Fries Rebellion the people did not like paying taxes. The action of John Adams that had the most negative outcome was the signing of the Alien and Sedition and Naturalization Acts. They did support his cause but they added even more friction between the two parties. These acts resulted in the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions which brought forth questions concerning state government powers. It is probably that because of the discrimination of Democratic-Republicans John Adams lost the election the second time he ran for president.
Influences: The main decision made by John Adams that has influenced America today was not to go to war with France and to make amends with them. If, for instance, America did go to war with France and won there would probably be no Canada, but America would be greatly in debt. If America went to war and lost the United States of America would not exist. If France had won America it could have over taken Britain. This would change the lives of millions of people. Furthermore, since Adam's sent 3 more men to Paris to try and make amends for the second time. This ended successfully and a friendship occurred between the Americans and French. For the most part the Americans and French are on relatively good terms to this day.
Conclusion: When John Adams' presidency was over the country was defiantly better off then it was before. Some positive changes include the improved navy, French friendship, property taxes to pay off debts, and Logan act. All of these things were needed if the country hoped to advance in the future. A negative to his presidency was the Alien and Sedition Acts which target immigrants who were largely Democratic-Republicans. But he never openly supported them or executed them. Even though he strongly believed his party was the superior one, Adams ruled with kindness and sympathy. This was shown when he defended the British soldiers that were at the Boston Massacre. These mostly positive reflections of John Adams' presidency is why he deserves the grade of a "B".
Bibliography:"2. John Adams 1797-1801." The White House. 01 Feb. 2010. <http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/johnadams>
DeGregorio, William. The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents. Fort Lee: Barricade. 2005.
"John Adams." American Presidents: An Online Reference Resource. University of Virginia. Web. 3 Feb. 2010. <http://millercenter.org/academic/americanpresident/adams/essays/biography/1>.
Kindig, Thomas. "John Adams." Ushistory.org. Web. 01 Feb. 2010. [[<http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/signers/adams_j.htm>.]]